Little Dude’s Favorite Show of All Time

Today I would like to introduce you to Little Dude’s favorite show of all time: My Baby Can Talk.

This post contains affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosures.

Thanks to one of my closest friends for sharing this gem with us; I wish we had found it sooner!

Whenever I ask Little Dude, “Do you want to watch your show?” he goes nuts: jumping up and down, giggling, and squealing, he can’t wait for me to start the video.

Despite being 14 years old, this video offers quality instructional strategies that engage baby in learning:

Music, bright colors, and movement hook baby’s attention.

Simple images maintain baby’s attention and focus on the word being taught.

Repetition reinforces each word. Parents catch on quick, and are able to reinforce the signs for baby.

The adult actor introduces each sign, but the child actor demonstrates what it might look like in practice (helpful for parents to know what to expect from their child).

Examples come from both the real world and baby’s world (toys, books, etc.) to provide multiple examples of each word. (This same content recognition strategy is even used to “teach” Artificial Intelligence new concepts.)

The predictable format repeats for each sign.

When we began watching, Little Dude just stared at the screen – I’ve rarely seen such sustained attention from him. The cute little frown he wore, and the way he would turn to make sure I was watching his favorite signs with him reassured me that he wasn’t just zoning out: deep thoughts were happening.

After watching the video nearly daily for several weeks, the payoff for our patience and persistence has started to reveal itself. The past few days, Little Dude has begun signing along with his favorite signs. One or two have even made appearances in our daily activities outside the video (although everything is a “shoe” this week, so we still have some work to do).